In the Arms of an Angel
by blue eyed chica 11
Summary: Tim's sister Haley has been at boarding school for the past 5 years.  So why has she now decided to come home?  Naley, TimTheresa, Billz, and eventual Brucas
1. All Downhill from Here

A/N: This is my first fic, reviews would be greatly appreciated. Co-authored with ms.marie! 

**Disclaimer: don't own one tree hill or anything you recognize! Don't own the songs for the titles either. **

Flashback 

It was a bright, sunny day, and Mrs. Smith decided that she shouldn't keep her two little toddlers inside all day, unless she wanted to deal with tow crabby little four year olds.

_"Tim! Haley! Come on kids, put your shoes on, we're going to the park!" She called. It was too bad her husband was clocking in extra hours at the office; otherwise he could've joined them. But he was looking for a promotion, so he had to step it up._

_As soon as she stopped the car, the kids were out and running. But before they could cross the street, their mother stopped them._

_"Now you two, what did I tell you about crossing the street?"_

_"To, uh-to, uh…" Tim stumbled with the answer._

_"To look both ways to check for cars!" Little Haley exclaimed, proud of herself for knowing the answer. Her twin brother rolled his eyes at her._

_"Yes," their mother came huffing over to them, "and to wait for your mother!" She grabbed her children's hands and walked with them across the street. But it wasn't long before the three of them heard a familiar jingle. The Smith twins turned to their mother with wide eyes._

_"Mommy, can we get some ice cream!" Little Haley asked._

_"Pwease!" The twins said in unison. Of course, she relented. Who could say no to those faces?_

_After Haley got her strawberry cone and Tim his chocolate, the two took off for the sandbox. It was their favorite part of the park._

_"Com on Hawey, I'll race ya!" The two raced to the sandbox, with Tim coming out the victor. But then he noticed Haley wasn't right behind him anymore, she had stopped a few feet away and was staring at the ground. He walked back towards her. "What's wrong Hawey?"_

_"I-I dropped my ice cream," she had tears welling in her eyes as she held out the now ice cream less cone to her brother. Her glob of strawberry ice cream was now on the ground, attracting all kinds of insects._

_"It's okay Hawey, don' cry," but even as he said it, tears stared to roll down his sister's face. He was becoming frantic; he hated to see her cry. "Aw, Hawey, stop cryin'! H-Here! Have mine!" He shoved his own cone towards her. She stopped crying and they smiled at each other._

End Flashback 

**Present Day-Tree Hill**

River Court

"Lucas, Lucas, he's our man! If he can't do it…"

"Skillz can!" Bevin shouted, interrupting Brooke's cheer.

"You know," Nathan panted as he drove past Skillz for another lay up, "our team's winning here."

"Yeah, the team of Nathan and the Tim Man is kicking some major ass here and the losers over there are getting all the love. Do you see something wrong with this picture?" Tim complained to the four cheerleaders currently sprawled out on the bench as they watched the game.

"Go Timmy!" Theresa, Tim's girlfriend, shouted with a lopsided grin on her face.

"How about you, Peyton? Any love?" Nathan teased his ex-girlfriend.

"Haha! In your dreams buddy!" Peyton laughed.

"I'm hungry, are you guys almost done?" Brooke whined.

"Girl, you're always hungry," Skillz told her.

"Bev, I think your boyfriend just called me fat," Brooke complained.

"Come on guys, aren't you done playing basketball. Who really cares how many slam-ups or lay-dunks you make anyway?" Brooke questioned innocently.

All four guys stopped playing and stared at her with their mouths open.

"Don't you cheer for basketball? How can you not know anything about the game?" Skillz questioned.

"Yeah, but I don't pay attention to the game. I'm too busy watching the hot, sweaty guys run down the court," Brooke explained, "So are you guys done now?"

"Yeah, we totally kicked their asses anyway," Nathan said giving Tim a high five.

"Good job baby!" Theresa shouted while flinging herself into Tim's arms.

"What, no love for the losers?" Skillz pouted.

"Come here baby!" Bevin said giving him a hug.

Lucas looked at Brooke expectantly.

"Eew! No way am I hugging your hot, stinky, sweaty body," Brooke cried.

"Eew…eew, get off of me!" Brooke shrieked as Lucas wrapped his arms around her.

"I thought you liked hot, sweaty guys," Lucas laughed at her.

Peyton couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy as she watched the two. She had had a crush on Lucas before he and Brooke started dating, but she never acted on it. But then Brooke came along and now he was officially off-limits because you can't like your best friend's boyfriend; it's against the code.

"Aww…what's the matter? Getting tired of us being the 7th wheels?" Nathan said wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess," Peyton muttered.

"Hey! How about we all go to the café? Brooke's STARVING!" Lucas suggested rolling his eyes.

There was a chorus of "yeah, sure".

They walked into Lucas's mom's café and headed straight for the booth in the back, otherwise known as "their" table. It had been their table for the past four years now. Bevin, Brooke, Theresa, Peyton, Lucas, Skillz, Nathan, and Tim. The eight of them are Tree Hill High's elite. They're the popular clique, the jocks and the cheerleaders. They're the ones who were loved by everyone and envied by all. But more importantly, they are best friends.

Bevin is the ditzy one. Sure she could be a dumb blonde, but she was one of the best friends you could have. She is loyal and caring. She's someone who you could call for help, and she would drop everything to come help you. She's someone who could make you smile even when you're having a bad day.

Brooke, captain of the cheerleaders, could be a bitch, but she's someone you would want in your corner in a fight. She's probably the most outgoing of the group. She's the party girl with a heart of gold.

Theresa is the mother hen of the group. She's the responsible one that takes care of everyone. At parties she's usually the one driving all her drunken friends home.

Peyton is the brooding artist. Her and Brooke are as different as night and day, but maybe that's why they're such good friends. They balance each other out.

Lucas is the protector. He looks out for all the girls. He's the one you go to for help. He's the smart one that's always helping everyone else get out of trouble from their crazy schemes.

Skillz is the one who can always make you laugh. He's always cracking jokes and getting himself into sticky situations.

Nathan is the player. He's got a different girl each week. He's the guy every girl wants. He's the king of the school and quite the partier.

Tim is the goofball, but deep down inside he's really just a big momma's boy. He's usually the stupid one, but you can't help but find it adorable.

The eight of them have been best friends since the 8th grade, when they were thirteen. But some of them have been friends for longer. Like Nathan and Tim who met in preschool and then became best friends.

Flashback 

"Hey can I play with you?" A four-year-old Tim asked a young Nathan who was playing with a miniature basketball and hoop.

_"I don't know if you want to," Nathan told him._

_Tim looked puzzled. "Why wouldn't I?"_

_"Because I'm Nathan Scott, future NBA star," Nathan told him with an air of superiority._

_"Oh yeah?" Tim asked as he stole the ball and made a basket._

_"Ha!" Tim exclaimed sticking out his tongue._

_"What's your name?" Nathan asked._

_"Tim Smith."_

End Flashback 

And the two were best friends ever since. Peyton and Brooke had been best friends forever. They met Bevin in 6th grade through cheerleading. But their group didn't really become best friends until Theresa moved to Tree Hill from Illinois.

Flashback 

_It was already the middle of her 7__th__ grade year when Theresa's dad announced they were moving. He got a job promotion in Tree Hill, North Carolina or, as Theresa liked to refer to it, the middle of nowhere._

_She was nervous for her first day at a new school where she didn't know anyone. She was sitting in her first class all alone when a group of four guys walked in. The first one to walk in was an African American boy, who apparently had just told a joke because his three companions were laughing hysterically. The next boy was a blonde haired boy who looked oddly similar to the dark haired boy behind him. And the last member of the group just came sprawling into the classroom after the dark haired boy tripped him. After laughing, the boys walked to their seats, which happened to be right by Theresa. The tripping boy's eyes widened upon seeing her._

_"Oh my god! Is there a ninja in your pants?" The boy exclaimed._

_"No?" Theresa responded puzzled._

_"Are you sure? Because your ass is kicking!" Tim amazingly managed to say with a straight face._

_Theresa and the other three boys just looked at him and burst out laughing._

_"That was Tim speak for 'nice to meet you'," The dark haired boy explained, "I'm Nathan. Are you new?"_

_"Hi, I'm Theresa. Yeah, I just moved here from Illinois."_

_"Well it's nice to meet you. That's Skillz and that's Lucas. And the ninja here is Tim," Nathan introduced them all._

Throughout the day, Theresa hadn't met that many people, they all seemed to ignore her. That's why she was so nervous walking into the cafeteria. Who was she going to sit with?

_"Hey Theresa! Come sit with us!" Nathan shouted when he saw her standing in the middle of the cafeteria looking around._

_"Hey guys!" Theresa greeted as she hesitantly dropped her lunch bag on the table. She sat with Nathan on her right, Skillz on her left, and Lucas and the ninja across from her._

_The five sat in an uncomfortable silence for about a minute. No one really knew what to talk about. Theresa was usually really outgoing with her friends from back home, but most of them were girls and she was uncomfortable with the weird looks that ninja-boy kept sending her way when he thought she wasn't looking. Finally, Skillz couldn't take the silence any more and decided to break the ice._

_"Wow! I didn't know people still used those anymore," Skillz commented about Theresa's Spice Girls lunch bag._

_All of them just looked at the bag and busted out laughing._

_"Hey! I like this bag," Theresa tried to defend her favorite lunch bag._

_After that the five were talking like they were old friends, which most of them were._

_20 minutes later_

_"So let me get this straight. You two are half-brothers, but your dad is married to Nathan's mom and pretty much ignores Lucas. Except your moms became best friends and made you guys become friends. And Nathan and Tim have been best friends since preschool. So then all three of you guys were friends and met Skillz playing basketball?" Theresa paused to get confirmation._

_"Yup, that's pretty much it," Nathan nodded._

_"Wow!" Theresa gasped, "This is like an episode of General Hospital!"_

End Flashback 

The four boys were Theresa's first friends in Tree Hill, and she didn't make any more friends until she went to cheer camp that summer where she met Brooke, Peyton, and Bevin.

Flashback 

Theresa was extremely nervous for her first day of cheer camp. She had been living in Tree Hill for a couple of months, but so far she hadn't made any girl friends. Sure she had her new best friends Nathan, Lucas, Skillz, and Tim, but she missed doing girl stuff. Like going shopping, having sleepovers, watching chick flicks, and doing each other's nails. Sure the guys tried to help her with her girl stuff by going shopping with her, but there was only so much they would do before they drew the line. Besides, it's no fun to gossip with a group of guys. So she decided that going to cheer camp might help her make some new friends. Plus the fact that she had been cheering practically before she could walk. So it couldn't be that bad. Besides the guys would be in the gym right next door for basketball camp. So she wasn't really alone.

_Here goes nothing – Theresa thought to herself as her and the guys got out of the car._

_"You're going to be fine," Nathan whispered reassuringly in her ear as both Scott brothers slung their arm around her shoulders._

_Theresa smiled at him. "Walk me?"_

_The four guys walked her up to the door of the cheer gym._

_"Remember, we're right next door if you need us to kick any cheerleader butts," Tim reminded her._

_"Tim, you couldn't even if you tried," Nathan poked fun at him while the rest of them laughed._

_The five of them walked into the cheerleading gym. Scattered throughout the room were groups of cheerleaders in cheer shorts and tank tops in various colors._

_"Damn, is it too late to sign up for cheerleading?" Tim asked eyeing a leggy blonde._

_"Come on Tim, we got to go to basketball. Have fun Theresa!" Lucas said giving her a hug._

_After the guys left, Theresa was left standing awkwardly near the door with her cheer bag slung over her left shoulder._

_"Well, looks like there's a new whore in town," sniped some snarky redhead in the shortest cheer shorts Theresa had ever seen._

_"Excuse me?" Theresa snapped back._

_"Aww…What's the matter Rach-ho? Is someone trying to take your title as Biggest Slut of Tree Hill?" a brunette spitfire stood up to the redheaded bitch._

_"Brookie-Cookie that's your title," the redhead told her condescendingly._

_"Why don't you go back to your lackeys and get the hell out of my face," Brooke demanded._

_"This isn't over," the redhead said as she turned and walked away._

_"Don't worry about her. She's a bitch," Brooke said acknowledging Theresa._

_"Thanks," Theresa muttered as she fiddled with the strap of her pink tank top._

_"Come on, let's go stretch," Brooke told her. She grabbed her hand and dragged her over to where a curly blonde and another blonde were sitting._

_"Let me do the introductions," the brunette bubbled, "Obviously I'm Brooke. Chicken legs there is P.Sawyer or sometimes Goldilocks."_

_"Hi, I'm Peyton," the curly blonde interrupted._

_"Right, and the other blonde is B.Mirskey or Spanky-buns."_

_"I'm Bevin," the other blonde interrupted._

_"Could everyone stop interrupting me," Brooke complained, "Everyone, this is…what's your name?"_

_"I'm Theresa."_

_"Right. Ooh, where'd you get your tank top?" Brooke squealed._

_But before Theresa could speak, Brooke started talking again. "Ladies, this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," Brooke said flinging her arms around the three of them._

End Flashback 

Theresa introduced her best friends to her new girl friends and, as they say, the rest is history. The eight became best friends and now they were about to go into their senior year. It was their last year to all be together before they all went their separate ways. And that's what they were currently discussing as they sat at their stable at the café.

"It's going to be our last year of high school, our last year together. And then it's all going to be over and we're all going to go our separate ways and never see each other again," Brooke whined.

"Drama queen much?" Peyton laughed.

"Guys, promise we're all going to spend our last year together," Brooke pouted.

"Of course we will," Lucas reassured her.

"I'm going to go get drinks," Tim told them. He got up and went to sit at the counter. Seconds later Nathan appeared in the seat next to him.

"You know Haley's fine at school with Jake," Nathan told him.

"Yeah, I know. I just wish we were spending our senior year together. I miss her sometimes," Tim confessed.

"So do I," Nathan replied.

Charlotte, North Carolina 

Charlotte Music Academy

Haley's alarm woke her up at nine in the morning. With a groan, she reached out to slam her hand against the offending object, successfully turning it off. Haley had never been a morning person, and on most Saturdays she would never have even rolled out of bed until noon. But today she was supposed to go out with Jake to breakfast. It was a little ritual of theirs, the last Saturday of the summer they would go to this quaint little café for breakfast.

She had been going to Charlotte Music Academy boarding school ever since seventh grade, when she became interested in being a singer. The school was specialized for musicians. It wasn't that far from her hometown of Tree Hill, so the trips her brother took to come visit her weren't that long.

When she first came to school she was nervous about leaving the safe familiarity of her home. She was worried that her and her brother would drift apart, that she wouldn't make any friends because no one would like her, and that she would get stuck with a horrible roommate. Well, she lucked out on 2 of the 3. Her and Tim were still as close as ever, she had made many new friends, but she hated her roommate.

Emily, her roommate, was just a stuck up snob. The only reason she was there was because of her parent's money, she really had no musical talent whatsoever. Ever since Haley moved Emily had never even said one nice thing to her. So what if Haley's family didn't flaunt their money?

Walking past her sleeping roommate, Haley grabbed some clothes and hopped in the shower. As soon as she was showered and ready to face the public, there was a knock on her door. Running over to their wooden door, she threw it open. A brunette boy was standing in her doorway.

"Jake!" she exclaimed, happy to see him.

"Hey, you ready?" he asked. She grabbed her jacket from the closet.

"Yup, let's go." Her and Jake left her dorm and started their short walk to the café. Haley and Jake have been best friends ever since they started school together. They had some classes together and they immediately hit it off. He was her confidante, the closest person to her, besides her twin, of course. She smiled thinking about her brother. She hadn't seen him in awhile; he went with his friends to spend most of his summer vacation down in Mexico.

The little bell clanged above them as they entered the café. They sat at their usual table that was tucked in the corner, where they could have some privacy. An elderly waitress approached them.

"What can I get you dears?" Then she looked up and noticed it was the two of them. "Oh, your usuals?"

"Yes, please," Haley answered for the both of them. They had been coming around so often ever since they stated school there and they always ordered the same thing. They knew most of the waitresses by name.

"Coming right up, hon." She left, leaving the two friends alone. Haley looked over at Jake and noticed the forlorn expression upon his handsome face.

"What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

"Ah, it's nothing…"

"C'mon, spill," she demanded. He sighed and ran a hand over his face.

"Cindi and I broke up last night. I found her fooling around with that drummer. She said I just wasn't enough for her."

"Oh, I'm so sorry Jake. She was never good enough for you anyway. Besides, now you get to start off your senior year single. You'll easily be able to find someone else, someone better," Haley told him. She didn't want to say I told you so, but she had never really liked Cindi and she knew that she just wasn't right for Jake. But she tried to be supportive of his relationship and to get along with Cindi, because that's what friends are for. But, now all bets were off. Cindi was no match for Haley Smith, and she was going to regret hurting Haley's best friend.

Back in Tree Hill 

Tim burst through the door of the Smith's lavish home after hanging out with his friends.

"The Tim-Man's home!" He called, announcing his presence to all in the house. He dropped his bag by the front door and entered the living room. Looking up he saw his mother hurriedly brush a few tears away and wipe her eyes. She hurriedly shoved a piece of white paper into her pocket. He stopped to look at her in concern.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Eleanor Smith looked at her only son, her firstborn child. Telling him was going to be hard, but she knew it had to be done. Gathering her courage, she began to speak.

"Tim, honey, there's- there's something I have to tell you," she swallowed back the tears that were threatening to come. "Tim, I've been going to see a doctor for some time now. They-they found some lumps, and they ran some tests. I…I got the results today. Tim, sweetie- I've been diagnosed with breast cancer," she looked towards her son to see his reaction. Disbelief was written on his face. There was a pause, and then he cracked a smile.

"Ha ha, that's a good one man! I'll have to try that sometime. 'Cept you know- I'll have to change the breast cancer part…" he trailed off, thinking that this was all one big joke. There was no way that his mother could have cancer. He didn't believe it.

Eleanor sighed; she knew that Tim wasn't going to take this well. She pulled the crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket, handing it to her son.

"It's from the doctor. My-my test results," she wiped away a stray tear that escaped while her son looked over the paper. His eyes started to tear up and he roughly handed the paper back.

"No-no!" he broke off as the tears were threatening to come full force, "You don't have cancer! You can't," he said the last line in almost a whisper. With one last look at his mother, Tim stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Hearing the door slam behind her son, Eleanor finally broke down, crumpling to the ground in tears.


	2. Better Days

Title

A/N: This is my first fic, reviews would be greatly appreciated. Co-authored with ms.marie!

**Disclaimer: don't own one tree hill or anything you recognize! Don't own the songs for the titles either. **

Tim could feel an unfamiliar feeling of fear clench his heart as he stormed out the door. He threw open the door to his car and got in. He hesitated a moment before starting the engine. He knew he shouldn't leaver her like this, but he couldn't find the strength to go back in that house. He knew he wasn't capable of comforting her when he had yet to even wrap his mind around this. It wasn't possible. There was no way that the strongest person he knew was dying of cancer.

As he gunned the engine and took off, his tires screeching as he turned the corner, he still had no clue where he was going. He knew he could always go to Theresa, but she would want to talk about it, and right now he really didn't feel like talking. He could go to Nathan, but he knew if he told Nathan he would be upset too. His mom was like a second mother to Nathan. And Tim really didn't want to deal with somebody else's feelings tonight either, so Nathan's was out of the question. The only person he really wanted to talk to right now was Haley, and she was miles away. Plus, this really didn't seem like a phone sort of a conversation. What Tim really needed right now was a nice cold beer. With this in mind, he pulled into the nearest bar.

The overwhelming stench of cigarettes and booze filled his nose as he walked in the door of the dimly lit bar. His eyes swept over the room, taking in the various couples sitting at tables throughout the room, some younger girls in scantily clad outfits dancing on their makeshift dance floor, his eyes lingered on the pool tables near the back, his fingers almost itching to play a game, and finally settled on his destination, the bar. He slid into a leather stool situated at the bar.

"Can I help ya sugah?" The bartender asked with her very apparent southern accent.

"Yeah, give me a beer and keep 'em coming," Tim spoke, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Sure thing, hun," the bartender replied, setting his bottle of beer in front of him, not even bothering to ask for an I.D.

"Cheers," Tim muttered to himself as he took a long drag of the burning alcohol.

"So, ya wanna talk about it?" The southern bartender asked after observing Tim for a few minutes.

"Talk about what?" Tim asked, looking down at the oak wood bar and making designs with the condensation his beer bottle left behind.

"Oh, I don't know. How about why you're underage and drinking in a bar, sulking, and apparently mad at the world? Do you wanna talk about that?" The bartender countered smugly.

Tim looked up as the bartender paused. She was an attractive woman, probably in her mid twenties. On a normal night, Tim would have already hit on her, probably using one of his lame pick up lines, but tonight was not a normal night. And tonight, Tim didn't want to deal with this woman and her questions.

"Whatever," Tim muttered as he picked up his beer and hopped down from the stool. He noticed a crowd forming around the pool tables and he found his feet carrying him in that direction.

"Ya know, Stud, you can't run away from your problems. They'll catch up to you eventually!" The bartender called out to his retreating form.

Tim pretended to ignore her as eh weaved his way through the throng of drunken men surrounding the pool table. When Tim finally got a look at what the crowd was all cheering about he was slightly confused. So some guy was getting his ass handed to him at pool. Why was that so exciting?

"What's going on?" Tim asked the tipsy man standing beside him.

"If Billy sinks that eight ball it'll be his twelfth victory of the night," the tipsy man slurred. The crowd broke into a cheer as Billy, at least that's what the drunken man called him, sunk the eight ball in the corner pocket.

With a defeated sigh, Billy's challenger chucked his pool cue on the table and reached in his pocket to pull out one hundred dollars, which he reluctantly handed over to Billy. Billy's buddies congratulated him as Billy scanned the crowd, looking for his next challenger.

"So, who wants to give it a try?" Billy's voice boomed over the crowd as he continued to high five his buddies.

Tim took a large gulp of his beer before turning to the drunken man beside him.

"Looks like I'm lucky number thirteen."

"But thirteen's unlucky," the confused man told him.

"I know," Tim said with a smirk as he picked up the abandoned cue from the table.

"No way," Billy muttered as Tim sank the eight ball into the corner pocket. Silence settled over the crowd as the astonishment sunk in.

"I think you owe me some money, pal," Tim drawled while casually leaning on his pool cue with his hand outstretched for the pay up.

"No way, you cheated!" Billy cried, outraged as the crowd watched the verbal sparring match go back and forth, like a ping-pong match.

"No, but now I think you owe me some money," Tim said, a little more forcefully this time.

"And what if I refuse to pay you, kid?" Billy taunted as he stepped closer. Tim's smirk quickly turned into a more serious expression as he saw Billy's grin and mocking face. Tim had been looking for a reason to punch someone all night, and this guy just provided him with the perfect excuse.

"Then I'd just have to do this," Tim threatened as he threw a right hook at the man's susceptible jaw. The man held his jaw for a moment before glaring at Tim.

"You shouldn't have done that boy," Billy threatened menacingly. The crowd separated as he lunged at Tim. He tackled him and sent him crashing to the ground. Tim hit the ground with a bang, with Billy currently straddled on top of him. He then proceeded to smash Tim's face with his fists.

"Hey! Break it up!" The bartended from earlier shouted as she ran over with a rifle in her hands. "Both of you get out of here!"

As she said that, she called over tow security guys. They dragged Billy and Tim to the door and kicked them out into the parking lot. Billy immediately left, but Tim sat against the wall for a moment to regain his composure.

"You might want to get that checked out sugah," the bartender suggested, indicating the bloody mess of what used to be his face.

"I'll keep that in mind," Tim muttered as he pulled himself up from the wall with a groan. He slid into the driver's seat of his car and sped out of the parking lot. He decided to pull into the nearest convenience store. After that incident he was feeling entirely too sober.

The clerk looked oddly at his fake I.D., but sold him his beer anyway. With his precious cargo safely in the passenger seat, he took off down the street. After his encounter tonight, he kind of just felt like being alone. So he went to the place where everyone in Tree Hill goes when they want to be alone. The River Court.

He dragged himself and his new best friend to the middle of the court and plunked himself down on the hard surface. As he breathed in the ever-present smell of asphalt he realized it had been just hours ago that he was here with his friends even though it felt like days. It was hard to believe that mere hours ago he had played on this court with his friends and talked about how awesome their senior year was going to be.

"So much for that awesome senior year," Tim muttered to himself, taking a swig of his beer.

"Cheers!" He shouted out to the empty court.

It wasn't fair, Tim thought. It wasn't fair that the most amazing woman he knew had cancer.

"It's not fair," Tim sobbed as the tears threatened to fall from his eyes. He angrily threw his bottle at the pavement, watching as it shattered into a million tiny pieces.

Tim fumbled in his pocket searching for his phone. When he finally found it, he punched in the number he knew by heart.

"Hello!" A voice shouted to be heard over the loud background noise.

"Haley?" Tim slurred in his drunken state.

"Tim, is that you? Are you drunk?" Haley yelled at him.

"Hales, I need you," Tim choked out quietly as the tears once again threatened to spill.

"I'll be right there."

When Tim hung up the phone, he finally let the tears fall. As it started to rain his salty tears mixed with the raindrops on his face.

* * *

Haley stared at her silver cell phone after her brother hung up. Something was up. Sure, Tim had called her when he was drunk before, but this time something was different. Something was wrong and she needed to go help her twin. He was drunk, and she needed to get to him fast, before he did something stupid. Haley was walking towards the dorm parking lot, but paused mid-stride when she remembered that her blue Lexus was in the shop.

"Damn," she muttered, shoving her keys back into her brown purse. But this problem was not going to deter her in any way, no; she just needed to bring along one extra person back to Tree Hill with her. She turned on her heel and headed in the direction of her best friend's dorm. Jake would understand and he would be more than willing to help her. She bit her lip as she approached his door. At least, she hoped he would. Rapping a knuckle on the door she patiently waited for the musician to answer. Throwing the door open, he let the now frantic Haley in. Throwing her purse down into a chair, she started pacing the length of the room.

"Jake, I have a problem. Okay, so Tim called me from Tree Hill, my twin brother, remember?" Jake rolled his eyes at his friend, for of course he knew who Tim was, considering Haley talked about him all the time. But he let her continue without interruption. "And, well, he was drunk, where he got the booze from I don't know, and he said he needed me, but he didn't say why, and then he hung up. So of course I was going to be on my way, when I remembered that my car was in the shop, you know how the brakes were making those funny noises last week, and now I need a way to get there, because the one time my brother really needs me and actually asks for help and I would be such a horrible sister if I didn't come…" she was waving her hands in the air, babbling out her story, hoping Jake would see her dilemma.

"Whoa, Haley, slow down there, deep breath." She did as instructed. "So let me see if I get this. Something's wrong with Tim, but you don't have your car, so you need a ride down to Tree Hill?" Haley nodded her head meekly. Jake gave her a wide grin.

"I'd be happy to give you a ride, Hales." She squealed and threw her arms around the brunette.

"Oh thank you, thank you! Now, let's get going," she grabbed her purse and headed out the door, Jake closely following after grabbing his keys from the table. Hopping into his black Jeep, they sped off towards Tree Hill. They drove in silence for a while; Haley was too distracted to even attempt a conversation. But Jake's voice broke through her thoughts when he asked her a question.

"Haley, do you even know where Tim is?" Haley's face fell as she shook her head. She had no idea where her twin was.

Nathan had been upstairs, attempting to finish his math homework, but he ended up shooting hoops through the mini-basketball hoop hanging on the back of his door. He heard the doorbell ringing throughout the Scott residence, and his mother's resounding footsteps as she went to answer the door.

Deb Scott impatiently pulled open the door. Seeing a young girl standing on her doorstep, she didn't miss a beat. Rolling her eyes, she shut the door in the girl's face.

"Nate! There's a girl at the door!" The blonde cried. She knew of her son's reputation and assumed that the young teen was another one of her son's conquests.

A look of confusion passed over his face. It was nothing new for a girl to stop by at his house, but it was kind of late for a visit. And it sure wasn't one of the girls; his mom would have recognized Brooke, Peyton, Bevin, or Theresa. Rolling out of bed, he decided to check it out.

After the door slammed shut, Haley turned to Jake, not knowing what to do. He was still sitting in the car, parked in the Scott's large driveway. He just shrugged his shoulders. Sighing, Haley turned back to stare at the door, willing it to open. She hadn't wanted to come here, hell she didn't even know if he would remember her, but it was her last resort. She knew that her brother and Nathan were still best friends, she was hoping her might be able to help her find Tim. Lost in her thoughts, she almost jumped when the door finally did open, revealing a dark-haired, blue-eyed teen.

"Hey, sorry 'bout that…Haley?" Nathan asked, dumfounded when he recognized the girl on his doorstep. Haley was a little shocked; it had been a few years yet he still recognized her. Nathan took this time to study her. She was wringing her hands in nervousness, and her gorgeous brown eyes were looking everywhere but at his face. Now he was a little worried, she had been gone so long, something had to have happened to make her come back. And by the looks of it, something bad. "Hales…what's wrong?"

"Oh, Nathan. Something's wrong with Tim. He called me, drunk, and…and he said he needed me, but I have no idea where he is! And now he's not answering his phone. Nathan, I'm really worried about him. I need your help," she finally looked up at him, with pleading eyes.

"Of course I'll help," he walked out, shutting the door behind him. Trigonometry could wait; right now his best friend needed him.


	3. Damaged

* * *

A/N: I'm really sorry it's taken so long to update, but here it is

A/N: I'm really sorry it's taken so long to update, but here it is. We'll try to update sooner next time. 

Disclaimer: don't own one tree hill or anything you recognize! Don't own the songs for the titles either.

"Jake, this is Nathan," Haley introduced as she slid into the passenger's side of Jake's jeep. "Nathan is Tim's best friend. He's going to help us find Tim."

"Hey man," Jake greeted as Nathan got situated in the backseat of the jeep.

"Hey," Nathan replied to Jake before turning to Haley, "So you said Tim was drunk?"

"Definitely. So where could he possibly go to get drunk?" she directed her question to Nathan.

"Well he could've just gone to the store or he could've gone to this bar we sometimes like to hang out at," he suggested, scratching his head trying to think of where his best friend was.

"Okay, well let's go check out the bar and hope he's there," Haley decided. "Nathan, you direct Jake on how to get there."

Nathan directed them to the outskirts of town where they saw a bar bustling with people, the sign reading "The Post, forget your problems."

"Haha, cute," Haley commented sarcastically upon reading the sign. "Alright, let's go in and ask if anyone's seen Tim."

The trio walked into the bar. Haley wrinkled her nose upon smelling the awful aroma of booze and smoke. Haley led them over to the bartender.

"Excuse me," Haley spoke determinedly placing her hands on top of the bar and looked around for around, looking for the bartender. She was beginning to get frustrated when she couldn't seem to spot the bartender.

"Excuse me!" Nathan spoke a little louder, coming to stand behind Haley at the bar. Jake hung back a little bit.

"Can I help ya' sugah?" the bartender asked, appearing out of nowhere.

"Yes. I'm looking for someone," Haley told her. "My brother. He's about six feet tall, he's seventeen, brown hair, brown eyes."

"There was a boy in here earlier matching that description. He was in here sulking," the bartender told her. "But he's not here anymore."

"Where'd he go?" Haley demanded.

"He got into a fight with someone earlier, and I had to kick him out. I don't know where he went after that. Hopefully, to get his face cleaned up like I told him to," she relayed what happened earlier to them. "Sorry I can't be of much help."

"Thanks," Nathan said as the three of them made their way to the door.

"Great, now what are we going to do? We know he was here, but where the hell did he go after that? And he got into a fight, I can't believe he got into a fight…" Haley rambled on as they stood outside the bar.

"Haley. Hales, calm down!" Jake grabbed her shoulders.

"Okay, okay. I'm fine," Haley took a deep, calming breath, "So where would Tim have gone?"

"I don't know," Nathan replied, running his hand through his hair, "Umm…Theresa's, the Rivercourt, the café, someone else's house."

"Okay. Let's just start at the top and work our way through the list. So, first stop is Theresa's?" Jake, the voice of reason, spoke.

"Yeah," Nathan muttered as they climbed back into Jake's jeep.

Nathan gave Jake directions to Theresa's house.

"Wow!" Haley whispered, as they pulled into the driveway of Theresa's lavish home.

"Yeah, her dad's like the vice president of some major company. So he makes tons of money," Nathan explained, seeing the owed expression on Haley's face. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Now, we'll wait in the car. You should talk to her, she knows you," Haley replied slightly nervous, she had never met her brother's girlfriend. Nathan walked up the walk while Jake and Haley waited anxiously in the car.

Nathan rang the doorbell and waited for a couple of minutes before someone opened the door.

"Hello," Theresa answered the door with a yawn.

"Did I wake you up?" Nathan asked with a laugh as he took in her pink tank top and powerpuff girls boxer shorts with her bed head.

"Yes. Now, would you like to tell me why?" she asked with her hands on her hips.

"I was actually wondering if you had seen Tim tonight, but I'm going to guess that you haven't," Nathan explained gesturing to her pajamas.

"No. I called him earlier, but he didn't pick up so I just left a message," Theresa said, her concern growing. "Why, what's wrong?"

"All I know is he's drunk and we can't find him," Nathan explained to her. "But I've really got to go. We have to find him before he does something stupid. Or should I say another stupid thing."

"Wait," Theresa called as Nathan turned to leave. "I want to come with you. Just give me a second to grab a sweatshirt."

Nathan waited outside as Theresa ran inside. She came out moments later with a Ravens cheerleading hoodie thrown on over her pink tank top, a pair of flip flops on her feet, and her hair thrown into a messy bun.

"Let's go," she said as she shut the door behind her. Nathan led her over to where Jake's jeep was waiting in her driveway. "Nate, who are they?"

"Umm…" Nathan stuttered as she stopped walking and stared at him. "Why don't they answer that question for you."

"No, I asked you the question. I thought you were looking for Tim. So why are you with two random strangers?" Theresa asked bemused.

"Hey! Is there a problem?" Haley asked, rolling down her window and looking at the blonde standing next to Nathan.

"Yeah, who are you?" she asked, turning to look at her.

"I'm Haley. Haley Smith," Haley replied with a smile.

"Oh. Oh my god, you're Tim's sister. Wow, umm… I feel really stupid now," Theresa said sheepishly, a pink flush making its way onto her cheeks.

"It's okay. It's good to finally meet you Theresa," Haley told the girl who was now nervously shifting her weight from foot to foot.

"You too. Tim talks about you all the time. He really loves you, you know," Theresa told her.

"Okay, well as cute as this little meet and greet is, I really think we need to get going," Nathan interrupted the two girls.

"Right. Let's get going," Theresa said as she climbed into the backseat with Nathan right behind her.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Theresa, this is Jake, my best friend," Haley introduced the two.

"Good to meet you Jake," Theresa smiled in his direction.

"Same to you," Jake replied sincerely. "So where to now?"

"Well where else would Tim go?" Haley asked the two in the backseat. "Would he go to any of your other friends?"

"Well he wouldn't go to any of the girls. I don't think he'd go to Skillz either," Nathan mused aloud.

"What about Lucas?" Haley asked about the only other of Tim's friends she actually knew.

"I don't think he'd go to Lucas. Usually when he's upset he either talks to me, Nathan, or your mom. But he usually likes to be by himself for awhile," Theresa offered her insight.

"Okay. Well where would he go to be alone?" Haley asked.

Theresa and Nathan shared a look before simultaneously saying, "The Rivercourt."

"What's the Rivercourt?" Jake asked bewildered.

"It's a basketball court by the river. We hang out there all the time," Nathan explained.

Jake's jeep took off down the street as Nathan directed him to the Rivercourt. He parked next to the basketball court and turned off the engine. The car's four occupants stepped out into the pouring rain. They spotted a long figure sitting in the middle of the court surrounded by various bottle and broken glass.

"Tim!" Theresa shouted as Haley took off running.

Haley ran across the court, her feet crunching on the broken glass from Tim's earlier tirade. She ran to his side and kneeled down beside her brother as Jake, Nathan, and Theresa stood frozen in place at the edge of the court.

"Tim!" she said grabbing his arm. "What the hell are you doing out here? Are you crazy? You're going to catch pneumonia sitting out here in the rain."

"Hales," he said looking up at her with tear filled eyes, "you came."

"Of course I did, you're my brother."

"But you never come home anymore, so why would you now?" Nathan shot her an apologetic look as he came forward, having heard Tim's last words. He reached down and grabbed Tim's arms to haul him to his feet.

"Come on buddy, let's get you home," he steadied his friend as he swayed and tried to pull away.

"No! I don' wanna go home," Tim slurred, stumbling away from Nathan. Nathan shot a panicked look towards Haley, not knowing what to do. He knew that Tim was close with his mom, why was he so against going home?

"Maybe it would be best if our parents didn't see him like this," she answered his unspoken question. Nathan decided to make an executive decision.

"Fine, we'll go back to my house then," Nathan said, half-dragging Tim back to the car, Haley following right behind them.

The ride back to Nathan's house was uneventful. Silence filled the jeep, no one wanting to break the unspoken agreement. It was so quiet that Haley could hear Tim's deep, ragged breaths. Tim was slouching the in the back, half-asleep, with his head laying on Theresa's shoulder as she continuously ran her hands through his hair in an effort to calm him. Nathan sat on the other side of his best friend, staring out the window into the dark night and wondering what had caused Tim to end up this way.

Pulling into the Scott's vast driveway, Jake came to a stop, parking the jeep. Nathan turned to his friend.

"C'mon, buddy, time to get out," Nathan helped Theresa pull Tim out of the car. He was very out of it so Nathan and Theresa were supporting most of his weight, dragging him to the door. Nathan fumbled a little, trying to reach his keys and open the door while still supporting Tim, but he managed it eventually, swinging the door open. They didn't have to worry about any questions from his parents, at least, not yet. They were already in bed and would have to get up early and work all day. His mom was actually going out of town on a business trip.

The group of five quietly made their way upstairs to the guest bedroom. Nathan dropped Tim onto the bed, and Tim promptly curled into a ball and hugged a pillow to his chest before passing out. Haley sighed and began to take off his shoes.

"Theresa, you staying?" Nathan asked, knowing she would want to. She nodded and sat down on the bed next to Tim. He turned to the other two. "Um, what do you guys plan on doing?" Haley looked over to Jake. They hadn't really planned anything. She was so worried about Tim that they just rushed off.

"Um, I guess we could just go to my house or stay in a hotel…" Haley trailed off.

"Nah, don't bother, you can stay here. There's another room down the hall."

* * *

"Come on, Peyton. Let's get you inside," Lucas said, pulling the drunken blonde out of his truck. Peyton was draped over Lucas, one of his arms around her waist, as he guided her to the door. "Where are your keys? Peyton!" She giggled as she stumbled. Lucas sighed as he grabbed her purse to search for her keys. Finding them he let themselves into Peyton's house. Her dad was away again.

Lucas laid the blonde on her bed and took off her shoes. She turned to lay on her side. Pushing an errant blonde curl from her face, he sighed.

"We can't keep doing this, Peyton." She had phoned him, drunk as a skunk, needing a ride home from a club. It wasn't the first time. Lucas grabbed a spare blanket and pillow and settled himself on the floor, slowly drifting off to sleep to the sound of Peyton's even breathes.


	4. What Hurts the Most

A/N: This is my first fic, reviews would be greatly appreciated. Co-authored with !

**Disclaimer: don't own one tree hill or anything you recognize! Don't own the songs for the titles either. **

Tim woke groggily with a sore throat accompanied by a killer headache. He looked around the room and quickly realized that the room he was in didn't belong to him and that he wasn't alone. Having practically grown up at the Scott house he quickly recognized the room as being the guest bedroom there. And having been dating her for about forever, he placed the form with her head laying on his chest as belonging to that of his girlfriend, Theresa. What he didn't remember was what the hell he was doing sleeping at Nathan's house and why Theresa was there. But he didn't have much time to contemplate this, as the blonde lying on top of him rolled over.

"Oomph…" Theresa muttered as her head fell off his chest as she rolled over. She heard Tim snicker in response and quickly turned her head to shoot a playful glare at him. Her glare quickly turned into a bright smile as Tim openly laughed at her.

"Hey you. You feeling better this morning?" She asked him as she curled up next to him and placed her head on top of his chest again.

These words triggered Tim's memory as he remembered the events of last night and what had led him to end up at Nathan's house. He remembered his mom, the cancer, the bar, the fight, the Rivercourt, and Haley. And suddenly he wasn't in such a good mood.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," he told her as he bolted from the bed and ran into the adjoining bathroom. Theresa fell back on the bed with an "oomph" as her pillow had run from underneath her. She too climbed out of the bed as she heard the unmistakenable sounds of Tim being sick in the other room. She sat on the edge of the tub as Tim was hunched over the porcelain bowl. She ran her hand over his back and whispered soothing words in his ear, in an attempt to make him feel better. She handed him a glass of water when he was done emptying the contents of his stomach.

"Feel any better?" She asked him as he gurgled the water and spit it into the sink.

"Not really," he told her gruffly as he sat on the toilet seat, holding his head in his hands. Theresa knelt before him and grabbed his much larger hands in her own.

"Hey, why don't you take a shower up here, and I'll go downstairs and make you my hangover specialty. Okay?" She said soothingly, massaging her thumb over the bruises on his knuckles. He grunted noncommittally in response, but she started the water for the shower anyway.

"I'll be right downstairs," she told him. Dropping a kiss on his temple she left him alone in the bathroom. Theresa too had practically grown up in the Scott mansion, so she easily navigated her way around all the hallways and lavish rooms and ended up at her destination, the kitchen. With a practiced hand she started the coffee and grabbed the ingredients she wanted from the refrigerator.

******

Roughly fifteen minutes later a freshly showered and changed Tim shuffled into the kitchen and promptly dropped onto a stool at the Scott's kitchen counter. His hair was still wet and he had changed into a pair of Nathan's basketball shorts and a random basketball t-shirt because he didn't want to put his clothes from last night back on. They stank of sweat, beer, and smoke. He put his head down on the counter and listened as Theresa hummed to herself while moving around the kitchen cooking.

"Hey baby. You look much better," she smiled at him as she continued to hum whilst she cooked. Tim decided not to respond to her, he wasn't in the mood for her cheeriness. They sat in silence for a while, except for Theresa's humming which was starting to bug the crap out of Tim.

"Morning Nate," Theresa greeted cheerily, breaking the unspoken nontalking agreement.

"Morning Theresa," Nathan replied, slumping onto the stool next to his best friend. "Smells good in here."

"Thanks. I'm making my hangover special because somebody's not feeling so hot after last night," she commented, indicating the boy with his head still resting on the counter, who hadn't even acknowledged Nathan's presence.

"I wonder why," Nathan muttered under his breath before turning to Tim, "How ya feelin' man?"

"My hangover has a hangover," Tim grumbled without moving his head from its position.

"That's what happens when you get piss drunk and go around getting into fights all the time," Nathan mocked his friend.

"Dude, I'm so not in the mood for your shit right now," Tim replied, aggravated.

"Cut it out you two," Theresa scolded them while waving her spatula at the two of them.

Silence fell on the three of them. Mostly because they were both sort of scared of Theresa. Nathan was secretly scared she was going to beat him with the spatula.

Theresa grew bored with the silence as she resumed her cooking. She decided to ignore the stupid boys as she danced around the kitchen, singing while she scrambled eggs.

"Hit me baby one more time. My loneliness is killin' me, yeah yeah," she sang into her spatula.

Nathan erupted into laughter. "You are such a dork."

She spun around and mock glared at him.

"No I'm not," she said with her hands on her hips, "Come on. Sing with me. I know you know the words. You used to listen to Britney Spears with me all the time when we were younger."

"Only because you had no girlfriends," he teased.

"Oh, admit it Nate. You loved being my girlfriend," Theresa joked.

"Sing it with me," she demanded, "Oh, I still believe…" She trailed off, holding her spatula microphone in front of Nathan's face.

"Still believe!" He chimed in while laughing at her. He quickly turned his head towards the stairs as he heard applause. There stood Haley and Jake, laughing and clapping.

"Bravo! You have a beautiful singing voice Nate," Haley laughed as she and Jake joined him at the kitchen counter.

"You guys are just in time. Breakfast is ready," Theresa told them as she gave everyone huge plates filled with pancakes, bacon, eggs, sausage, and other breakfast foods.

"Wow! Looks like you made enough for a small army," Jake joked.

"I was making my hangover special cause someone's not feeling so great," she told them as she took her seat next to Tim.

"I feel fine," Tim growled.

The rest of them decided to refrain from commenting on that and instead turned to their breakfast. As Nathan, Haley, and Jake chatted about school, sports, and music, Theresa turned to Tim.

"You know baby," she grabbed his hand, "if you need to talk, I'll listen."

"Theresa!! I don't want to talk," Tim yelled, wrenching his hand away from hers, "And quite frankly, I'm sick of hearing you talk."

Nathan, Jake, and Haley abruptly stopped talking as they heard Tim yell at Theresa. Nathan could read the shock and hurt on her face as she quickly jumped up from her chair.

"I um…I think I'll just go now," she quickly retreated away from Tim, "Thanks for letting me stay, Nate." With a quick glance back at Tim she practically ran to the front door.

"You're a dick," Nathan told Tim as he ran after Theresa.

He caught up with her as she was pulling the door open. Her back was to him, but he could tell she was crying from the slight shake of her shoulders.

"T!" He called to her before she could leave. She turned to face him, and he could see the tears on her face. He hated seeing her cry. She was like a little sister to him so he hated when someone hurt her, especially if that someone was his best friend.

"Come here," he said as he grabbed her in a fierce hug. She buried her head in his chest and cried quietly while he just held her.

"I didn't mean to upset him. I was just trying to help," she muttered into his chest.

"I know, I know. It'll be okay," he whispered to her, trying to reassure her. "When he realizes what an ass he was he'll come apologize. And he'll come to you when he's ready to talk."

"Thanks Nate," Theresa said, pulling away from their hug and giving him a watery smile, "You're the best."

******

"What the hell was that Tim?" Haley yelled at him. Tim just ignored her. "You know, when you called I thought something was seriously wrong, but I'm starting to think you just create your own problems by being such a jackass," she continued to rant at him.

"Oh spare me the lecture, Saint Haley. You don't even know what's going on. It's not like you're ever here," Tim yelled back. He knew that was a low blow, but he didn't care right now because he was so angry.

"Tim, come on. You don't mean that. You know Haley talks to you all the time and tries to see you as much as she can," Jake tried to intervene as he saw the hurt on Haley's face. But it was a losing battle, trying to reason with Tim right now.

"But she's never here! She never comes to visit here. It's always me going to see her! And she never even talks to mom-" Tim abruptly stopped that train of thought. And suddenly all his anger was gone. It was replaced with that nagging pang of sadness in his chest.

"It's mom, isn't it?" Tim? What's wrong with mom?" Haley rushed out, sitting down on the stool next to her brother. She knew something really bad must've happened, to get her brother so torn up. Haley knew that her brother and her mom were really close. It was a relationship sometimes Haley envied. Tim looked down at the marble countertop, unable to look Haley in the face. She put a comforting arm around his shoulder. "Come on, Tim. What is it?" She was patient, knowing he would tell her when he was ready. She felt him take in a shuddering breath in preparation, then he began his sordid tale.

"Mom, she-" he took another deep breath, turning to look his twin in the eye, "she has cancer." Haley gasped and her hand flew to her mouth, eyes widening. She stood and took a few stumbling steps away from Tim. Her eyes were wild as she started to panic.

"I-I need some air," she said as she took off for the front door. Jake stood up as if to follow, but Tim placed a strong hand on his arm, shaking his head.

"Don't. I think she needs time alone right now. To, you know, process it all." Tim would go find her in a bit, once he felt up to facing her.

*****

Nathan and Theresa were standing by Theresa's car when they saw an extremely upset Haley come pealing out of the Scott house. The two exchanged a worried look, not sure what they should do. Nathan made up his mind, opening the door to Theresa's car.

"I'll take care of it," he ushered her into the car. "You go home and I'll give Tim a good talking to."

"Don't be too harsh on him. Something is seriously bothering him. I just wish he would tell me what it is." He nodded and waved goodbye as she drove down the driveway and disappeared down the street. He sighed, turning to face his house. First things first, find out what the hell is going on. He trudged back up to the front door and reentered the house, making a beeline for the kitchen. It seemed eerily silent. Finally stepping inside the room, he beheld the two boys sitting in stony silence at opposite ends of the kitchen counter. Nathan rounded on his best friend first. It was time to get some answers.

"All right, Tim, what the hell is going on?"

****

Haley had been wandering aimlessly and somehow found herself at the park. The very same park that her mother used to take her and Tim to when they were little. She made her way over to the swings. They were always her favorite. As a kid she used to imagine that if she could swing high enough that she would actually be flying. The swings no longer held that magic for her as she got older, but she still enjoyed them.

Cancer. Her mom had cancer. Haley couldn't wrap her mind around it. At least now she knew why Tim was so upset…Drops of liquid wet her jeans as they dripped from her face. Haley couldn't help the flood of tears once the dam broke. She would have to speak to her mother. Find out if the cancer was terminal, what she could do to help. She let out a sob, glad that the park was deserted.

Hearing footsteps crunching on the pebbles of the playground behind her, Haley vainly tried to stifle her sobs and wipe away her tears.


End file.
